to recommend the government to keep the existing 240
first-past-the-post electoral constituencies intact.

At present there are 116 constituencies in Tarai districts and 124 in the hill
region.

A source privy to developments at CDC said the commission had decided to keep
the existing 240 seats unchanged and that it would recommended the government
to this effect.

CDC officials, however, declined to confirm that they would suggest the
government to retain the existing constituencies.

But CDC member Netra Dhital said the members could not recommend addition of
seven constituencies in the Kathmandu Valley (five in Kathmandu and one each in
Lalitpur and Bhaktapur), as claimed by some on the basis of population growth.
“If we decide to increase FPTP seats in the Kathmandu Valley
in view of increase in the population, we will have to do the same in other
districts as well for population has risen significantly there also. We cannot
take this step without amending the constitution,” Dhital said.

The Interim Constitution has conflicting provisions which have but complicated
the CDC’s task.

Article 154 (A) (8) of the constitution states that the election constituencies
shall not be delimited in such a way that they go below the number of electoral
constituencies that existed at the time of the commencement of the
constitution, whereas Article 63 (3) stipulates that Madhes will have
constituencies based on the percentage growth of population there. There were
205 constituencies at the commencement of the Interim Constitution.

CDC has nine more days to present its recommendations to the government.

CDC member Dambar Chemjong said they had apprised the members of the High Level
Political Committee of the difficulties they were facing. CDC’s decision not to
tamper with the existing number of constituencies and advise the government to
keep 240 seats intact is because it wants to steer clear of any controversy.

Delimitation of constituencies is one of the major issues that may force
parties to rack their brains even if they successfully resolve other
contentious matters.

nnnn:

GOVT. KEEN TO PRESERVE INTANGIBLE HETIGAGE SITES

Kathmandu, 18 July:: With Intangible
Cultural Heritage Council (ICHC) going defunct, the government has again shown
interest in preserving intangible cultural
heritages with renewed efforts, The Himalayan Times reports..

The Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation (MoCTCA) has prepared a
draft and forwarded it to other ministries to start the work on preserving the
living culture.

“We have prepared a draft to form a body under the Intangible Culture Heritage
Council through a Cabinet decision,” said Jaya Ram Shrestha, under-secretary at
the MoCTCA. “The draft has been forwarded to the Ministry of Parliament, Law
and Justice, and the Ministry of Finance to seek suggestions,” he said, adding,
“It will take about a week to get feedback from the ministries.”

According to the MoCTCA, the guideline includes standards and policies to
maintain the intangible cultural heritage and their preservation as per UNESCO
provisions.

The government has already formulated a national cultural policy in line with
the UNESCO Convention in a bid to preserve and promote the cultures of Nepal. The
government in 2010 had ratified the UN Convention designed to safeguard
intangible cultural heritages, such as folklore, oral traditions, social
rituals and the performing arts, according to the MoCTCA.

“We will prepare an inventory and database of the heritages district-wise,
domain-wise and community or group-wise by identifying the issues,” said
Shrestha. “We will prepare a calendar and work accordingly,” he added. “We will
also examine the past studies carried out on folklores in order to avoid
duplication of work so that we can save time and money during the study.”

Intangible Cultural Heritage Council (ICHC), formed about two years ago to
preserve intangible cultural heritages, has become defunct without delivering
any output due to vagueness of defined roles. In the absence of the body,
heritage preservation work has taken a backseat. Nepal is a signatory to the UNESCO
Convention on Intangible Cultural Heritages. There are about 90 ethnic
communities with about 120 languages and different living traditions. The
nine-member ICHC, with culture minister as its chair, has culture expert Satya
Mohan Joshi as its vice-chairman.

The main purposes of the convention, which UNESCO Member States adopted in
2003, are to safeguard intangible cultural heritages, to ensure respect for the
same, to raise awareness on their importance and mutual appreciation, and to
ensure international cooperation and assistance in those fields. Signing the
convention binds governments to acknowledge their roles in international
cooperation and responsibilities towards implementing the provisions of the
convention through adoption of necessary legislative, regulatory and other
appropriate measures, according to the MoCTCA.

nnnn

MEDIA GOOGLE

Shrestha (Aviation Mnister Ram Kumar) said that the interim
government

will not stick to power if the four major political parties
-- UCPN-Maoist, Nepali Congress (NC), CPN-UML and United Democratic Madhesi
Front (UDMF) -- forge consensus on the disputed issues.

(The Himalayan Times 18 July)

“Maoist Chairman Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Wednesday pointed out
a need for a 'single communist centre' in order to lead the country.

”Welcoming four leaders of CPN-UML including former lawmaker Tek Prasad Pokhrel
amidst a function in party’s headquarters, Paris Danda on Wednesday, former
Prime Minister Dahal claimed that the country could witness progress only if
such a centre was formed.”